Adjustable helmets are known and examples of these are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,477,929, 4,539,715 and 5,956,776. Usually, these helmets are formed of two shell portions, namely, front and back shell portions which are interconnected together by engaging members such as ribs formed in overlapping regions of the front and back shell portions and on opposed sides of the helmet. The usual practice is to purchase the helmet and adjust it on one's head by the intended user by simply disabling the connectors and positioning the shell portions for close fit on the head and then enabling the connectors.
It is desirable to provide a means wherein the helmet can be adjusted to a person's head at the point of sale and usually by trained personnel. Therefore, there is a need to facilitate this adjustment without having to disassemble the helmet. There is also a need to provide a connector which is easily and quickly engageable.
With the above-referenced prior art there is disclosed the use of wedging elements to facilitate the activation of the connectors. The problem with these wedging elements is that they become easily disconnected particularly if the wearer hits a solid object, such as ice, side boards and side board Plexiglas surfaces or people collide with one another during a sports activity, such as hockey. A further disadvantage of the above-mentioned prior art is that often it is required to remove screws to adjust and connect the shells together. Screws are desirable as they provide a more reliable interconnection. However, it is difficult for a person to adjust the helmet on his head as the screws are not visible to him. Therefore, the helmet must be removed and the screws tightened and this is a tedious and often improper way of adjusting the helmet shell portions.